Their Lives Before the Hill

THOUGHT PROCESS:

I wanted to create a back story for the people who's graves now reside on the hill.Choosing to focus on Tom and seeing it from his point of veiw, I started by making a back story for everyone. After watching the first lesson I decided to simplify it and and use only half of 10 charaters as that is all that I belive time will allow. I wont nessisacrily name each character but more hint at their dispossitions so that the audience can figure it out. I want them to make judgments on each one and not the writer. So in saying that I will have one main character a secondry one and the others will remain namless or as I will refur to them as phantoms.

SETTING:

Old dusty pub in the middle of nowhere near Australia's top end.

CHARACTERS

TOM- late 20's- Horse Breaker Tormented by his brothers recent death

BURT an austentatious Truck driver with a foul mouth and no respect for women.

MAG a loud mothed Hooker

Draft 1

A dusty old pub somewhere towards the top end of Australia Where we see Tom looking through his beer.Credits roll as close up of beer bubbles.Tom A young Horse breaker is at his local pub. Shot of pub, barman cleaning glasses and a few drunks randomly sitting around the place.Close up of Tom's face as he sips his beer.He puts it down, crosses his arms and looks through the golden ale.He sees a flashback of his brother arguing with his wife about the paternity of her baby.

PHANTOM 1"Don't you fucking lie to me Who's is it? Its not mine because I have been working out west for 6 months"

PHANTOM 2"I was alone for so long, you dont understand..."

PHANTOM 1"Understand?! Understand?! I understand that you are four months preggers and I was nowhere in sight!"

She grabs his arm but he violently shakes her off. Gets in the car and starts driving. There is a flask of alcohol in the glove box and he swings that as he drives to work. He starts drinking and goes to work where a mining accident kills him.

Cut to tom recieving a phone call

PHANTOM 2"Tom... Tom, There was an accident in the mine"

TOM"What happened?"

PHANTOM 2 just sobs

Tom"What happened to my brother?"(getting angry)

Phantom2"Tom I.... I.... Can't without him..."

He We focus back on Tom in the Pub as he painfully closes his eyes and opens them again.

BARMAN"Mother one Tom?,last call"

TOM'Yeh, thanks mate, make her a tallie"

BARMAN"Righto"

Tom looks up at the t.v then look right back down again to his beer.

In burst BURT with MAG rapidly following behind.

MAG"You fucking bastard, (yelling in his face) That wasn't the deal."

BURT"Shut up Love, you gave me teeth and I'm not paying for that."

MAG"I did not, give me my bloody money."

BARMAN"What is going on here?"

BURT"I hired this lady for her, um, services but they where shit so I'm not gonna pay".

MAG"He means I gave him a gobbie (rolls eyes), and he's a Fucking cheapskate. Give me my money!"

BARMAN"Calm down love" (turning to her)

BURT

(Sitting down) "Yeh piss off and go back to whatever hole you came from"

MAG"You bastard. Just give me my fucking money and I'll go"

BARMAN"Just give her the money so she bloody-well shuts up!"

BURT"Listen bitch leave me alone before I....'(he get up nose to nose with her)

Mag"You What?"

Burt grabs her by the throat holding her feet off the ground.

BURT"Just fuck off!"

MAG spits in his face and he is enraged. He hits her across the head and she is knocked out.He throws her body like a rag doll onto the floor.

Burt sits down at the bar death staring Tom who is sitting a metre away and gestures his hand as if to ask for a beer.

The BARMAN obliges not wanting anymore trouble.

TOM goes to the girl and trys to wake her up.

BURT"Bloody bitch. Last time I pick up some whore from the fucking freeway." (slight laugh)

TOM tries to shake her he looks for her pulse. She is unresponsive. He starts to freak out and tells the BARMAN to call an ambulance.

TOM walks up to BURT and stares him down.

BURT"You want trouble mate?"

TOM"Your fucking mental, what did you do?"

BURT"Listen cowboy she's a whore, no-one cares."

TOM"Well that whore is fucking dead, I can't find a pulse."

The BARMAN calls the police knowing that even more trouble is brewing and he has a corpse in his establishment

BURT"And who are you? The fucking protector of whores?"

TOM(seeing red)"YOU FUCKING KILLED HER!"

TOM swings at BURT.

A massive brawl breaks out between the two men and the others just watch in drunken silence.The men restle to the ground and a shot of BURT smaking TOM in the mouth with blood pooring out.TOM (still on the floor) reaches and gets a Beer pitcher off one of the tabeles and hits BURT overthe head with it. BURT falls off and TOM stradeles him and keeps smashing his face with his fistsand pushing the broken glass from the pitcher deeper into BURTS skin.

The police arrive and grab his arms wilst they are up in the air continuing to beat a dead BURT, blood dripping down them.

The police drag him off and he leaves the pub in cuffs.

An old man sits peacefully in his cell ad zoom in to a shot of his eyes and we see that they are TOM's.

The tomb of MAG, BURT AND TOM sit on the top of a hill wind blowing the bushes, very plain graves.

#Note All charaters names are in capital letters to better help the actors.